From fan to first responder: RNSH doctor at Kings final It was Easter Sunday afternoon at Qudos Bank Arena, and Royal North Shore Hospital emergency specialist Dr Chris Partyka was watching the Sydney Kings take on the Adelaide 36ers in the NBL Championship final with his family. minutes can significantly improve outcomes. “Acting early can double a person’s chance of survival,” he says. “It is nice to be involved in giving someone that one in 10 chance. There’s a lot of
personal reward there. At the time, it just felt like I was part of a team doing the job that I normally do when I’m in uniform.” Chris says NSLHD clinicians who want to be in a position to help can become GoodSAM responders – a smartphone app that alerts registered volunteers nearby when someone needs immediate hands only CPR before an ambulance arrives.
The Kings had just won in dramatic overtime when Chris’s wife Ali and a friend noticed a man receiving urgent first aid closer to the court. From where they were sitting, it appeared that he was receiving chest compressions. Suspecting the man was in cardiac arrest, Chris — who also works as a Prehospital and Retrieval Specialist for NSW Ambulance— immediately decided to help.
“I left my family, ran down to the lower level and met the team as they were bringing the gentleman out of the arena,” he says. St John Ambulance personnel were resuscitating the man while waiting for NSW Ambulance paramedics to arrive. “I helped with the resuscitation as I normally would, and then when the paramedics arrived, introduced myself to them and together, we all continued to provide critical care.” In a rare request, NSW Ambulance asked Chris to remain with the patient and accompany him to hospital. “I gave my car keys to my wife and boarded the ambulance with the patient and continued the clinical care through to Westmead Hospital emergency department.” The man has fortunately survived his cardiac arrest. In New South Wales, only around one in ten people who suffer a cardiac arrest in the community survive to return home, but effective chest compressions in the first critical
Sydney Kings assistant coach Billy Tomlinson and head coach Brian Goorjian thank RNSH emergency specialist Dr Chris Partyka (middle) for his life-changing medical support
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